Happy Birthday Prat
by RagamuffinSundrop
Summary: Merlin gives Arthur an unusual birthday present.


I do not own Merlin and make no money from this story.

"I'll undress myself. You're dismissed for the night, George." Arthur said fighting back the urge to swat the hands that were trying to undress him. There was the slightest flash of disapproval on George's face as he stepped away from Arthur but it was gone almost as quickly as it appeared. The servant nodded and left Arthur's chambers.

Arthur felt slightly guilty. He knew that he was acting like a petulant child instead of a grown man because the person he wanted to be there wasn't there and he'd gotten George instead. He also knew that it wasn't right to take his bad mood out on George but it was as if it he couldn't help it. Everything George did for Arthur was right and proper. He did it without talking back or calling Arthur ridiculous names. He was an ideal servant, once you got past his brass jokes, but he was making Arthur miserable because he wasn't Merlin.

If someone had told him years ago that there would come a time that he would actually miss that gangly, pale, idiot that had mouthed off to him when they first met Arthur would have the person locked in the dungeons for the common good because that person was obviously insane. Yet here he was years later upset and unhappy because that gangly, pale, idiot who had gone from being Arthur's reluctant manservant to Arthur's best friend and closest companion wasn't around.

While Merlin was Arthur's manservant he was still Gauis' apprentice. The two duties rarely conflicted because Merlin was very good at managing to do both jobs. This time however, the job of the physician's apprentice took precedence. Gauis had come to Arthur and explained that he was needed in a village near Ealdor because of illness and needed Merlin to assist him. The court physician had predicted that they would be home within a week but had to leave immediately with Arthur's permission to take Merlin of course.

Arthur had a brief moment of childishness in his thoughts that had him wanting to refuse Gaius' request to take Merlin. It was almost his birthday and he wanted his manservant, his friend, his Merlin here to celebrate with him. The more mature part of him reminded him that he wasn't a child and it wasn't as if Merlin was never coming back. Besides, as a prince who was destined to be king he knew that the needs of the people came before his needs even if the people didn't technically belong to Camelot. With that in mind Arthur had given Gaius his permission to take Merlin with him and wished them both a safe journey.

The morning of Arthur's birthday arrived and with it came a bad mood and worry. Gaius' week had been up two days ago. The patrols had spotted no sign of them anywhere near Camelot's borders. Arthur was worried about them and chastising himself for not sending a knight or two with them. His father asked him what he wanted for his birthday and Arthur mumbled something that he didn't remember. He couldn't tell his father that what he really wanted was the court physician and more importantly the court physicians apprentice back safe in Camelot.

Arthur's birthday feast was underway and Uther had already retired for the night when the doors opened and Gaius entered. Arthur's attention was drawn immediately to the court physician. He looked tired and was moving as if he was injured or in pain. Arthur called for a chair for Gaius and he, himself moved quickly across the great hall to help the old man into the seat.

"Gaius are you all-right? Has something happened to Merlin?" Arthur asked kneeling next to the court physician.

Gwen appeared next to him with a goblet in her hand. Arthur silently thanked her with a smile as he took the goblet out of her hand and held it out to Gaius. Gaius took a long drink before smiling his own thank you at Gwen.

"I apologize if I scared you, Sire. I am fine. I'm a bit tired and bruised from a small fall from my horse. We encountered bandits but were able to get away. Merlin is my chambers. He has a few injuries. There's nothing too serious but he's unable to walk at the moment. Otherwise I'm sure he would have been racing up here to tell you what happened." Gaius explained.

"It's fine. As long as the both of you are safe. With your consent, I'd like to go with you to see Merlin for myself." Arthur said.

"Of course, Sire. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you. I'll tell him to look for you after the feast is over."

"Actually, I was thinking I'd walk down with you."

"As you wish, Sire." Gaius said his face blank but his eyes amused.

Arthur turned and with a few words thanked everyone in the great hall for attending his birthday celebration and wished them all a good night before following Gaius out of the room.

"If you'll excuse me, Sire. I need to check on something in the kitchens." Gaius said once they'd arrived at his chambers. Arthur nodded absently. His thoughts were completely on Merlin.

"You look terrible." Arthur said bluntly as he stepped into Merlin's room and took in his appearance.

Merlin's face was covered in colorful bruises. A bulkiness under one side of his shirt suggested that his side or his ribs had been injured and heavily bandaged. His pants had been ripped off above his ankle and it was also heavily bandaged.

"I love you too." Merlin replied giving Arthur a pained version of his cheeky grin and wincing.

"Can I get you anything?" Arthur asked feeling oddly helpless with Merlin lying there so injured and not knowing what to do about it.

"You want to serve me, Sire? That's a switch."

"And I find myself already regretting the offer."

"May I have some water please, my lord?" Merlin asked sweetly no indication of teasing in tone.

Arthur got him water and sat down gingerly on the edge of Merlin's bed.

"Will you tell me what happened? Gaius said you were attacked by bandits but managed to get away."

"That's not it entirely. We were on our way home and we came across bandits trying to rob a group of women and children that were traveling to the market in the next village. We couldn't allow that of course."

"Of course." Arthur agreed. His manservant may have been a clumsy idiot but there were few braver than Merlin and Arthur knew that Merlin's innate kindness, sense of honor and goodness wouldn't allow him to do nothing if he came upon such a situation regardless of the peril to himself.

"We were able to fight them off but it wasn't easy." 

"Why didn't you just use your magic?" Arthur asked stumbling slightly over the last word. Arthur had learned months ago that Merlin had magic. While Arthur didn't have the same reaction to magic as his father he was still learning to ignore the prejudices toward magic that he'd been taught since childhood.

"I did when I could but I couldn't risk any of the women or children being injured."

"Of course not. Is that why you look like that?" Arthur asked gesturing to Merlin's many injuries.

"Partially." Merlin answered looking sheepish.

"Merlin." Arthur's tone hardened. He knew that expression well enough to know that while Merlin wasn't outright lying he was avoiding telling Arthur the whole truth.

"Partially from trying to save the women and children from being injured without using magic and partially because I wouldn't let them take the gift I have for you." Merlin admitted.

"You're an idiot. No gift you have for me is worth allowing yourself to be harmed."

"This one is." Merlin argued a hint of defiance in his voice.

"What birthday gift is so important that you allowed yourself to be turned into a human practice dummy to protect it?"

"Look in my satchel and find out." Merlin replied in such a way that Arthur was instantly reminded of the dragoon. He looked at Merlin with the question about the dragoon and any potential relation to the man in front of him on his lips but decided that it could wait until later.

Arthur found Merlin's satchel at the foot of the bed and dug through it. He bypassed all the jars and bottles he felt assuming that they were part of the potions and pastes that Gauis used to heal and as such not his gift. His fingers closed around what felt like a book and that gave him pause. He was aware that Merlin could read and write as well as he could but at the same time it seemed odd that Merlin was carrying around a book. He pulled the book out carefully and almost dropped it in shock when he saw the cover.

The DuBois family crest, his mother's family crest had been branded upon the cover of the book. He raised his eyes to Merlin silently asking about it.

"Yes, that's your mother's crest. I asked the book binder to have it branded on the cover for me." Merlin explained.

Arthur heard what he wasn't saying as well. He hadn't just bought a book for Arthur. He'd had the book made for Arthur. He continued to look at Merlin the new question in his eyes and was rewarded with Merlin giving him a smile and silently gesturing that he should open he book.

Arthur opened the cover carefully, almost reverently unsure of what he would find inside. The pages were almost as ornate as the cover. They'd been gilded and in the four corners of the pages the Dubois crest and the Pendragon crest alternated. It was what was in the middle of the page that captured Arthur's attention.

In the middle of the page was a drawing of a young woman. She was blonde, pale and her manner of dress told Arthur that she was obviously royalty. Her eyes were warm and she was smiling a smile that rivaled the brightness of the sun. It wasn't her manner of dress, her hair, complexion, or the warmth in her eyes and smile that had captured his attention. It was the fact that he recognized those eyes and that smile that had captured his interest. Those were his eyes and that was his smile. That was his hair too. This was his mother.

"How?" Arthur began.

"Finish looking through it and I'll answer all your questions afterwards." Merlin said cutting him off.

Arthur eagerly flipped to the next page. The corners were decorated in the Pendragon and DuBois crests, as before but on that page was a drawing of Ygraine and a much younger, happy Uther. Studying the picture he realized that this was a drawing of them on their wedding day.

The next page showed Ygraine and Uther together again. Ygraine's smile practically leapt off the page and her hands were resting on her heavily pregnant stomach. Uther had one hand on her slender shoulder and one hand over hers on her stomach. The page after that showed Ygraine in bed looking tired but happy as she sat with a small bundle in her arms. From the thatch of blond hair that Arthur could see sticking out of the bundle he knew that the bundle was supposed to be him, as an infant in his mother's arms. The page after that showed Arthur as he looked now standing with Uther and next to them another drawing of his mother looking exactly as she did on the first page. It was a family portrait. Arthur felt his emotions start to overwhelm him at the sight and a lump grow in his throat as well as tears starting to prick his eyes.

The page after that was a detailed drawing of the castle. A drawing of the citadel and the lower town followed it. After that, there was drawing of one of the roads leading to Camelot. The page after that was another castle. It was just as detailed as the drawing of the castle that he called home but it wasn't a castle he recognized. Then there was a drawing of another citadel, another town, and another road. The final drawing was one of Arthur and his mother standing in a field that bloomed with heather and daisies. Arthur was confused. Daises grew in abundance around Camelot. Heather did not. It was on this last page that Arthur discovered that the drawings in the corners had changed. The artist had combined the Pendragon crest and the Dubois quest into a new crest that was equal parts both. It was beautiful.

"Now may I ask questions?" Arthur asked.

"Ask away." Merlin invited him.

"Who, how, where?" Arthur asked quietly.

"I drew everything in the book." Merlin admitted.

"The how was pretty easy. I spent a few days going around and asking the servants that were here when your mother was alive to tell me about her, to share their memories so I could give them to you. The places you don't recognize are your mother's home. Gaius and I did leave to assist those in a village near Ealdor that had fallen ill but when we were done we detoured to your mother's home. I spent a few days there asking about your mother and drawing her home. I used magic to help me flesh out the memories to allow me to capture your mother exactly as she was. I spent my spare time for a few days drawing the images of Camelot after I'd saved up enough of my wages to buy the paper and to pay a bookbinder to put it together. I took the paper with me and drew the other images in your mother's lands. The bookbinder I found used magic to bind the book as quickly as he did. I used magic to add the correct colors to the drawings and to protect the drawings from smudging, fading or tearing."

Arthur was stunned into silence as he considered the amount of time and work that Merlin put into this book. He knew Merlin was paid reasonably well and knew that Merlin sent most of his wages to his mother, so the amount of money he'd have to save to buy the paper and pay for the binding was also precious. Yes, he admitted he'd used magic to create some of the finer details but it was obvious that Arthur was holding something that Merlin had created with his own two hands.

"This is wonderful. Thank you, Merlin." Arthur said his voice heavy with emotion and his words almost chocked around the lump in his throat.

"Now do you understand why I was so unwilling to allow them to take your birthday gift? Why I considered it worth the pain and injuries I've suffered as long as it stayed safe to give to you?" Merlin asked.

"I do and while I appreciate it. I'd rather you not be hurt." Arthur said sitting down on the edge of the bed again.

"The heather?" Arthur questioned suddenly.

"Grows around your mother's castle. It was her favorite flower."

"That reminds me. I have another birthday present for you." Merlin said suddenly and tried to rise only for Arthur to push him back down onto the bed.

"Stay there, idiot and tell me what I'm looking for." Arthur instructed him.

"There's a jar in my satchel that has heather in it."

Arthur found the jar and stared in awe at the heather inside. Instead of being ground up or crushed, as it would be if Gaius or Merlin were using it in a poultice or a potion it stood straight in the jar as if still in the earth. It was bright and full as if it'd been freshly picked instead of having been in the jar for days without air or sunlight.

"It will never wilt, never fade and never die." Merlin said softly.

It like the book would be an everlasting piece of his mother. It like the book was wonderful. Arthur couldn't stop himself from pulling Merlin into a careful hug ever mindful of the other man's ribs.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Arthur whispered into Merlin's hair.

"Careful, Arthur. Keep thanking me like that and I might start to think you actually like me." Merlin teased him as Arthur ended the hug.

"Well you're the one that declared his love for me." Arthur pointed out dryly.

"Would you believe that I'm delirious because of the pain?" Merlin asked with a cocky grin that was quickly followed by a grimace as a new wave of pain hit him.

"Hmm…" Arthur pretended to think about it. "No."

"What does the jar of pain potion look like?" Arthur asked ready to search Gaius' stores rather than see his friend in pain any longer.

"I have it here, Sire." Gaius said opening the door to Merlin's room. He had a bottle in his hand that he promptly handed to Merlin who drank the contents with a grimace.

"That will make you a bit tired so I'm going to say goodnight now, Merlin. Goodnight, Sire."

"Goodnight Gaius." Both young men chorused.

"I can't believe how small and uncomfortable your bed is. Why have you never used your magic to fix it?" Arthur asked sitting down at the edge of Merlin's bed again.

"Never occurred to me. This is still nicer than what I slept on in Ealdor." Merlin admitted.

"Could you do it now?" Arthur asked looking quizzically at him.

Merlin nodded and gestured for Arthur to stand up and move away from the bed.

As soon as Arthur moved to the other side of the room Merlin's eyes glowed golden and he spoke a word in a language Arthur didn't recognize. Almost as soon as the word left his lips the bed Merlin rested on grew larger and the mattress under him grew thicker as if feathers had replaced the straw.

"Better?" Merlin asked raising an eyebrow at him in such a way that Gaius would have been proud.

"Yes, now move over." Arthur said joining Merlin on the resized bed.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked with a yawn as he obediently moved over to allow Arthur room enough to get comfortable on the bed.

"I'm staying here. Gaius looks almost as bad as you do and doesn't need his sleep interrupted if you need something in the middle of the night. If I stay here I can help you without you having to disturb Gaius." Arthur explained.

"All-right." Merlin agreed too tired to point out to Arthur that as the Prince if he was really worried about Merlin he could simply assign another servant to watch over Merlin that night.

"I think the potion is working. I'm not hurting much anymore but I am getting tired." Merlin said yawning.

"G'night Arthur. Happy birthday, prat."

"Good night, Merlin." Arthur said with a smile. Once he heard the other man's breathing deepen to the point where he was sure Merlin was asleep he dropped a kiss on Merlin's forehead.

"I missed you and I love you too." Arthur whispered before closing his eyes and allowing himself to fall into his first good sleep now that Merlin had returned.


End file.
